Mistletoe and Holiday Snow
by r2roswell
Summary: Holiday fic. Takes place in an alternate universe where George and Anne are still married. Ben did break up with Amy when he found out she was pregnant. Ricky has stayed true to his word about being involved.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This takes place in an alternate universe. Ben did break up with Amy when he found out she was pregnant. Mr. and Mrs. Juergen's are still happily married. Ricky stopped being a womanizer the days following his visit to Amy's house after telling her and Ashley that he wanted to be involved. As a result of that choice his foster family and Amy's family have been getting to know one another. And Ricky is the only foster child. I was just too lazy to write in storylines for the other foster kids.

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**December 24****th****:**

Ashley was sitting on the couch watching her sister pace back and forth near the window.

"What's the big deal, he's just coming over for dinner."

"Just coming over for dinner, Ashley, he's coming over for Christmas Eve dinner 'our' Christmas Eve dinner. I can't believe mom invited him."

"So, he's had dinner here before, as well as lunch and an occasional breakfast or two."

"This time is just different," Amy said crossing her arms over her stomach.

"Why because it just happens to fall on a holiday," Ashley said and then shaking her head, "No that's not it. I know it's because you've been avoiding him since Thanksgiving because you don't want him looking at you."

Amy stayed quiet and Ashley got the answer she had hoped for. Amy's stomach had grown and she felt ashamed of it. Amy never wanted to step out of the house because people would look at her. Like Ashley always said, even when Amy wasn't around- she wasn't dying, she was just having a baby.

"I'm sure he won't even care," Ashley said trying to reassure her older sister. "I mean it's not like you're fat on purpose."

Amy looked at Ashley, "Gee, thanks."

"I just meant that he won't care what you look like because he knows the reason for it."

"I just don't want him doing this because he feels he has to."

"What do you mean by that?"

Amy looked out the drive way and saw a car pulling up. "Nothing," Amy said silently. "I'll be in my room," she said leaving Ashley to look out the window just as Ricky and his foster parents were getting out of the car.

"Mom, the baby daddy is here," Ashley called out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2:**

Ricky's foster parents were the first to knock with Ricky standing behind them. George opened the door with Anne standing next to him and Ashley standing behind.

"Mr. and Mrs. Roebuck, Ricky, please come in," said Anne.

Mr. Roebuck handed a couple of bottles to George, "Apple cider," he said to him. "Figured we would go with something safe with the kids around us," said Mr. Roebuck.

"Good call," replied George.

Anne looked at Ashley, "Where's Amy?"

"Hiding like always," came her daughter's snarky reply.

"Well will you go get her please?"

"Do I have to; she's in one of her moods."

"Fine I'll go," Anne said and then looked to her guests, "Excuse me for a moment."

George led the Roebucks and Ricky to the living room where they could all talk for a little while.

Anne knocked on Amy's door.

"Amy," she said making her way inside, "Hey, Ricky and his foster parents are here."

Amy was sitting at her laptop finding some sheet music on the internet.

"Can I just skip dinner tonight?"

"You never skip meals and it's not healthy for the baby." Anne took a seat on Amy's bed.

"What's the matter Amy?"

"I just don't want them to see me."

"You can't avoid this Amy. I know it's not what you planned, it's not what any of us had planned but the fact is you are pregnant. And Ricky's foster parents understand. You can't hide in your room forever Amy."

"You know how you talked about wanting to run away to the moon?"

Anne nodded.

"I wish I could do that right now," Amy said.

"I know you do. It will be okay Amy we're going to get through this as a family. And you've got a guy who wants to be there as well so don't be afraid to let him."

Amy nodded just as there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Amy said.

Ricky opened the door. "Hope you don't mind," he said, "Ashley told me where your room was."

Anne stood up and walked over to Amy to place a kiss on top of her head, "We'll wait until you're ready."

Amy nodded. Anne placed a comforting hand on Ricky's shoulder before leaving. Ricky smiled at Anne and then turned to Amy.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Not really," Amy said honestly.

"If you're worried about my foster parents you don't have to."

Amy looked at him and Ricky continued.

"A few years ago they had a foster kid who got pregnant. They're used to dealing with this stuff."

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel better."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I mean, you're trying at least right."

Ricky smiled, "Right. Come on what do you say we head back out there? I don't know about you but I'm actually hungry."

"Yeah I'm kind of hungry too."

"Even though you told your mother you weren't?"

"So you were listening."

Ricky smiled and shrugged.

"So much for hiding in my room," Amy said to him.

"Come on," Ricky said offering her his hand which Amy hesitantly took, "It won't be that bad, I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3:**

The evening didn't turn out as bad as Amy had feared it to be. The seven of them sat at the dinner table and simply enjoyed the meal that Anne had prepared, a ham with mashed potatoes, stuffing, and a few other dishes as well. Mr. and Mrs. Roebuck even made conversation with Amy which helped to put her mind at ease. Yes, she and Ricky had made a mistake but nothing could be done about it.

After dinner, they all went to the living room where George got the fireplace going. Anne brought in a tray of hot chocolate. As the adults were talking, Ricky looked over at Amy and saw her place her hand on her stomach. Ricky couldn't help but smile. It didn't take long before Amy to notice him staring. Part of her wanted to still pretend that this situation didn't exist but she knew better.

"Do you want to feel?" she asked him.

"It's moving?"

Amy nodded so Ricky got up from his seat on the floor and walked over to the couch Amy was sitting on. He placed his hand on Amy's abdomen and could feel the little one move beneath. It felt so alien to him but there was a sense of comfort in it as well. Another life depended on him and Ricky promised himself that he would not let his kid down and most importantly he would not let Amy down. She didn't deserve this and he didn't either but the past could not be rewritten and so they would do the best they could to make up for it.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was starting to get late and Mr. and Mrs. Roebuck had decided to call it a night. They all had a pleasant evening. Ricky's foster parents walked ahead of him and so they were outside waiting near the car while Ricky took his time inside with Amy.

"Promise you'll stop avoiding me," Ricky said to her.

"I can't promise but I will try."

"That's a start," Ricky said with a smile, "I know we messed up but I just don't want our kid paying the price for our mistake."

"Yeah, me neither. The baby is the innocent one in all of this. Sometimes it can be easy to forget that."

Ricky looked to the car where his foster parents were waiting near the car still talking to George and then he looked back at Amy.

"Well," he said in a softer tone, "Goodnight, Amy."

"Good night, Ricky."

Before Ricky was about to leave, Ashley caught them.

"Aren't you forgetting something pops?" she said to Ricky.

The two of them looked at Ashley and she smiled pointing up. Ricky and Amy followed her gaze upward. Amy's cheeks reddened. She had completely forgotten about the mistletoe that her mother had placed above the doorway. The adults had been able to get away with it but it was clear Ashley wasn't going to let it go.

Amy looked away, afraid to look into Ricky's eyes, "We, we don't- we don't have to," she said to herself silently blaming herself for the stuttering.

Ricky knew that Amy had just given him the chance to run away from this but he was done running. Right now the only thing that mattered to him aside from his child was the young woman standing in front of him.

Ricky gently took Amy's chin so she could look at him. "I want to," he said silently to her but enough to where Ashley could hear.

Amy was a little hesitant but just as Ricky gently caressed his lips with hers Amy couldn't help but give into it. She had forgotten what it was like to kiss Ricky. Their kiss ended up lasting longer than either of them had expected. Long enough for Anne to come up and stand next to Ashley who had wanted Amy to give her a hand with the dishes.

"I don't think she wants to be bothered right now," Ashley said with a huge smile on her face. Anne looked on as her daughter continued to kiss Ricky beneath the mistletoe. Outside Ricky's foster parents and Amy's father watched the two of them much to George's discomfort. There was a time when George had wanted Ricky to stay away from his daughter and his…gulp…grandchild but now, the fact that his daughter wasn't backing away and the fact that Ricky had been more than civil gave him a glimmer of hope that maybe Ricky wasn't such a bad guy after all.

Time seemed to have just stopped between Amy and Ricky as they continued kissing and as life outside of their little world continued with the first snow beginning to make its descent.

Ashley and Anne made their way to the window to get a better view of the snow.

"Would you look at that," Anne said to Ashley.

"Yeah," replied Ashley. "It's perfect: Mistletoe and holiday snow."

Anne looked down and smiled at her youngest daughter. And the two of them continued to look out the window. Ricky and Amy finally came up for air. Ricky smiled at her and she smiled back at him.

"Well," Ricky said to Amy, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Amy said to him.

Ricky smiled one last time before making his way to the car.

"'Night Mr. Juergen's," Ricky said to him.

George nodded, "Night Ricky."

Amy watched as Ricky and his foster parents drove away. George walked up to Amy and placed his arm around her. "So was this just a onetime thing or can I expect the two of you making out on the couch any time soon?"

"Of course not, dad, we'll be in my room."

George looked at his daughter a little shocked.

"Kidding," Amy said retaliating, sort of.

"He's a good kid, Amy, now that I've gotten to know him better."

"But you still hate him for getting me pregnant don't you?"

George smiled, "Oh I'll always hate him for that." Amy smiled at her dad. She couldn't blame him for that could she? "Come on, let's go inside."

"Okay," Amy said.

And the two of them walked in the house with George closing the door behind him.

**END**


	4. Chapter 4: Alternate Ending

**Author's Note:** This is an alternate ending. It's the same as the first but the only major change is that it's been snowing for a few days so there's plenty of snow on the ground all ready.

Alternate Ending:

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Ashley asked Amy and Ricky who stood at the doorway.

Ashley pointed upwards and Ricky and Amy followed her point and gazed. There hanging above them was mistletoe. Both Amy and Ricky couldn't help but be a little embarrassed by it. Neither of them had expected this. Sure they had been able to get along with their occasional banter but neither thought that they would have to be kissing one another anytime soon. They both felt they were in a good place right now: as newly developed friends and right now they didn't want to jeopardize that. But what could it hurt? It was only one kiss and it was tradition after all.

Ricky and Amy simultaneously shrugged and then leaned in to kiss each other. Up until this point they had nearly forgotten what it was like to feel each other on their lips. The last time they had kissed like this was their night at band camp when their little disaster had begun to take shape. What Amy hadn't expected was for this kiss, at this moment, to feel so good and so right. She had told herself over and over that the night she had with Ricky meant nothing and that the sex was terrible. At this point she had to remind herself that maybe the sex might've been terrible but kissing Ricky Underwood certainly wasn't. If anything that had been the best part for her. And thanks to Ashley, she felt as if she were reliving her first kiss all over again. Likewise, Ricky had also forgotten what it was like to kiss Amy Juergen's. Everything about it felt real and complete- not like the kisses he shared with the many other girl's he had over the course of his time.

As the two of them continued kissing, Ashley went past them and gathered some of the fresh snow that was on the ground. She rolled it up and just for kicks, threw it at Amy who caused her and Ricky to stop their little make out session.

"Watch it," Amy said to her, "I'm pregnant."

"So what," replied Ashley, "That doesn't mean you can't have fun."

Amy gently reached down to the ground for some snow. She hated that it was becoming more difficult for her to move around. Amy gathered the snow in her hand and threw it at Ashley but missed.

Ricky smiled and gathered some snow, "Here, let me," he told Amy and then threw a snowball at Ashley just as she was gathering more.

Ashley looked up and saw that it was Ricky who had just pelted her so she quickly gathered more snow and tossed it his way.

Amy not wanting to get hit with snowballs in fear that one might hit her stomach, walked back into the house a little ways but enough to be standing near the door.

"Do you mind if I get Ashley?" Ricky asked not really wanting to leave Amy's side but at the same time wanting to join in the snowball fight Ashley seemed to have whipped up.

"By all means," replied Amy, "I would get her myself if I could."

Ricky smiled and nodded sympathetically. He then ran down the walkway, reaching for some snow and he and Ashley went at each other with snow particles flying everywhere. The two of them were laughing as Amy watched from the doorway and smiled: both at her sister and at the father of her child. This evening had turned out to be much better than she had anticipated it to be. At the beginning she had been nervous about having Ricky and his foster parents coming to a Christmas Eve dinner that had been a family tradition over the years but just maybe some family traditions could be tweaked up a little bit and having Ricky around wasn't that bad either. Amy looked up just in time to see Ashley creep behind Ricky and place a handful of snow in his shirt. Amy couldn't help but laugh a little at Ricky trying to dance around to get the snow out so it wouldn't freeze his back.

This night, Amy thought, had been the perfect combination of mistletoe and holiday snow. Two perfect endings to an all ready perfect night.


End file.
